Girl, 7, and mother are found dead
San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s officials are investigating what they are calling the suspicious deaths of a 7-year-old girl and her 43-year-old mother, both of Hermosa Beach, officials said Saturday.
The bodies of Gillian Harrigan and her mother, Marcia, were found Thursday on the rocky shoreline near California 1. Officials did not disclose causes of death. Autopsies are scheduled for Wednesday.
The shoreline north of Pico Creek where they were found is not a popular site for beach- goers. “It’s not someplace someone would go in swimming, especially in their clothing,” said Sgt. Steve Harris.
Investigators were tracing the pair’s route from Hermosa Beach to San Simeon. Officials found their car parked in a turnout above the shoreline.
Harris said it’s possible that “they were looking at the tide pool and a rogue wave hit them.”
-- Rong-Gong Lin II
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